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    • 'The Sound of Sunset' by James A. Tweedie

      The Society
      November 8, 2019
      Beauty, Poetry
      19 Comments
    Recent
    • Inspiring Muse Poetry Challenge

      The Society
      August 22, 2025
      30
    • ‘Gull’: A Poem by Jim Hurford

      The Society
      August 21, 2025
      3
    • ‘Shackled’ and Other Poetry by Gigi Ryan

      The Society
      August 21, 2025
      8
    • ‘Farewell Colbert’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

      The Society
      August 20, 2025
      11
    • ‘There Was a Time I Tried to Love the Sun’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier

      The Society
      August 19, 2025
      9
    • A Video Poetry Reading of ‘The Settlers’ by Martin Rizley

      The Society
      August 19, 2025
      4
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      Ten Best Riddles of 2018: Contest Winners Announced

      The Society
      August 13, 2018
      Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Riddles
      8 Comments
    Recent
    • SCP Haiku Competition Featured on Radio New Zealand

      The Society
      July 26, 2025
      3
    • The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

      The Society
      June 21, 2025
      644
    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      May 13, 2025
      1
    • 2025 Friends of Falun Gong Poetry Competition

      The Society
      March 31, 2025
    • The Best Poems of 2024: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition

      The Society
      February 1, 2025
      28
    • Winners of 2024 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      February 1, 2025
      2
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  • Inspiring Muse Poetry Challenge

    The Society
    August 22, 2025
    Love Poems, Poetry, Poetry Challenge
    30 Comments
  • ‘Gull’: A Poem by Jim Hurford

    The Society
    August 21, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    3 Comments
  • ‘Shackled’ and Other Poetry by Gigi Ryan

    The Society
    August 21, 2025
    Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire, Villanelle
    8 Comments
  • ‘Farewell Colbert’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

    The Society
    August 20, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    11 Comments
  • ‘There Was a Time I Tried to Love the Sun’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier

    The Society
    August 19, 2025
    Love Poems, Poetry
    9 Comments
  • A Video Poetry Reading of ‘The Settlers’ by Martin Rizley

    The Society
    August 19, 2025
    Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video
    4 Comments
  • ‘Umbra’ and Other Cloud Poetry by Adam Sedia

    The Society
    August 18, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    16 Comments
  • ‘News of a Coup’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

    The Society
    August 17, 2025
    Culture, Poetry, Satire
    30 Comments
  • ‘To the Ancient Mariner’ and Other Poems by Brian Yapko

    The Society
    August 17, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    24 Comments
  • ‘Pointless Poems’ by James A. Tweedie

    The Society
    August 16, 2025
    Humor, Poetry
    14 Comments
  • ‘Inklings’: A Poem by P.C. Venable

    The Society
    August 16, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    7 Comments
  • ‘Advice to a Young Man in Love’: A Poem by Morrison Handley-Schachler

    The Society
    August 15, 2025
    Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
    24 Comments

On the UK Heatwave: ‘Keep Calm and Carry On!’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 17, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
105 Comments
. Keep Calm and Carry On! “UK heatwave: Temperatures to rise to 41C amid extreme heat warning” ---BBC News  “The first Red Extreme heat...

‘Mistress’ by Michael Pietrack

The Society
July 17, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
39 Comments
. Mistress Within those sheets, my mistress lay, her flawless form with perfect feet. One last embrace; I cannot stay! I hear her heart in metered...

‘The Pale Rider Comes’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

The Society
July 16, 2022
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
10 Comments
. The Pale Rider Comes “So then give to Caesar what is his,” our Lord and Master said, __“And to God give what is his---your sacred...

‘Sumo’s Winning Ways’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
July 15, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
26 Comments
. Sumo's Winning Ways Fierce frontal impact clenches victory In less time than an untrained eye can blink, But connoisseurs of sumo’s...

‘In the First Degree’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
July 14, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
13 Comments
. In the First Degree Had the bullet’s trajectory veered half a foot to the right, It might not have extinguished the life of this innocent...

A Poem on Millet’s The Angelus and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
July 14, 2022
Art, Beauty, Ekphrastic, Poetry
7 Comments
. The Angelus, Jean-François Millet (Musée d’Orsay) How soft across the field the muted peal Has caromed off the setting sun, the...

On the Recent Overturning of Roe vs. Wade, by Alena Casey

The Society
July 13, 2022
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. “Hosanna,” All The Children Cried “Hosanna,” all the children cried, And Christ was pleased to open wide For them his hands and feet and...

‘The Automated Phone System’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
July 13, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Humor, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Automated Phone System I called up a business But no person answered, I got a phone system With multiple options Some rather confusing; I kept...

‘For Then’ by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Translated by Cheryl Corey

The Society
July 12, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
14 Comments
. For Then by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera (Mexico, 1859-1895) translated by Cheryl Corey O, to die upon the open sea At sunset, facing heaven, where...

A Translation of Horace’s Barine Ode, by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
July 11, 2022
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry, Sapphic Verse, Translation
20 Comments
. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Odes, II.8 “The first thing we learn about Barine is that she is in the habit of making and breaking promises (of love...

‘ While Pondering Pope’s Ode’ by Lucia Haase

The Society
July 11, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
15 Comments
. While Pondering Alexander Pope’s "Ode to Solitude" Grateful am I in solitude while reading Pope’s inspiring ode, a time for pause---an...

‘A Hopeless Rondelet’ and Other French Form Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 10, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau, Rondel, Villanelle
27 Comments
. A Hopeless Rondelet  All trust is dead, Killed by lies in love’s disguise. All trust is dead--- It’s buried in a sigh of dread. Its memory...

‘In the City’ and Other Poetry by Adam Wasem

The Society
July 10, 2022
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. In the City The city, where the liars are in charge And all the criminals are still at large: The just have been imprisoned, brought to...

‘The Drive to Reconcile’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
July 9, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. The Drive to Reconcile __We never wish to eat a bug __Or force an unexpected hug, But intimacy doesn’t come without A cost, and those who...

‘Back in My Day’ and Other Poetry by David Whippman

The Society
July 9, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Back in My Day I tested my courage---well, no, not really. The heroic stuff had been done before. My generation was all touchy-feely. It was our...

‘Free Verse’ by Clive Boddy

The Society
July 8, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Free Verse Let us free verse from "free verse" while we can;A pile of branches does not make a tree,And fruit squashed on a plate does not make...

A Definition of Formal (or “Classical”) Poetry: A Short Essay by James A. Tweedie

The Society
July 7, 2022
Essays, Poetry
22 Comments
. A Definition of Formal (or “Classical”) Poetry by James A. Tweedie One of the frequent comment threads on SCP involves the subject of the...

Percy Bysshe Shelley Poem Put to Music for Death Commemoration, by Guntbert Markefka

The Society
July 7, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Music, Poetry
5 Comments
. . Introduction Percy Bysshe Shelley was born August 4, 1792 and died in a boating accident on July 8, 1822. To mark the 200th anniversary of his...

On the Recent Destruction of the Georgia Guidestones, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 6, 2022
Culture, Poetry
51 Comments
. America’s Most Mysterious Monument The first of the anonymously funded Georgia Guidestone’s guidelines: “Maintain humanity under...

‘The Pigeon’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain

The Society
July 6, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, The Raven
22 Comments
. The Pigeon Once upon a workday morning, sleepy-eyed and loudly yawning, I was splattered without warning by a pigeon from the shore. At my half...

‘Pets and People’ and Other Poetry by Julian Woodruff

The Society
July 5, 2022
Children's, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
. Pets and People Do cats and kittens ever wonder Why their owners have no fur? Do dogs think it was blind fate’s blunder That the likes of humans...

‘O Say, Can You See?’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 4, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. O Say, Can You See?   Let’s think as we sink into star-spangled wonder, Intolerable acts were the reason to fight Each pillaging bully who’d...

‘Anew’ and Other Poetry by Talbot Hook

The Society
July 3, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Anew Whisk me away to the mountainside. __Spirit me far to the glen. For I long to find that secret place __Where I can begin again. All of us...

Two Riddles by Jack DesBois

The Society
July 2, 2022
Poetry, Riddles
11 Comments
. Riddle This tiny thief Has ground to grief Many a mighty poem, No wiser for The learned lore He nibbles, tome by tome— But though he'll...

‘A Ballade on Being Commissioned’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
July 1, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. A Ballade on Being Commissioned  Twixt Florence and the Holy See Of every artist you could hire You thought it meet to torture me. You gave no...

‘On Palestrina’s Music’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 30, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
28 Comments
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHUuaA8DKiQ . On Palestrina's Music Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, Ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus....

Haiku Competition 2022

The Society
June 29, 2022
Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
612 Comments
. Our 2023 Haiku Competition is on now HERE. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate. Among members of the Society of...

How to Write Haiku: What Makes a Good Haiku?

The Society
June 29, 2022
Education, Essays, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry
53 Comments
. How to Write Haiku What Makes a Good Haiku? by Margaret Coats The required 5-7-5 syllable form alone does not make a haiku. A good haiku ⦁...

Freedom in China Open Poetry Reading

The Society
June 29, 2022
Human Rights in China, Poetry, Readings
2 Comments
. You are invited to a reading of poetry that shines a light on the plight of ordinary, innocent people in China today who are unjustly persecuted by...

‘Gleam by Any Means’ by David Watt

The Society
June 29, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
. Gleam by Any Means The poem that I seek to write, the piece with flair and form, Which raises spirits high as clouds on zephyr breezes warm, Or...

Poems on Sexualizing School Children, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 28, 2022
Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Groomers   The words the school kids speak are not their own--- Fiends mold the untrained brain till every thought Is hostage to their noxious...

‘Life Is a Dream’ by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Translated by Elwin Wirkala

The Society
June 28, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
6 Comments
. Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681) Translated by Elwin Wirkala The king dreams he is king, and lives with this deception...

‘On Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Fields’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
June 27, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Science
21 Comments
. On Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Fields Are we just rats within a maze? Perhaps. But then perhaps there’s more to rats than what We know. Take for...

The Classical Figures Poetry Reading – Video

The Society
June 26, 2022
Poetry, Readings, Video
5 Comments
. https://youtu.be/DIhS6QTHh90 . Hosted by British poet James Sale and held by the Society of Classical Poets, the theme of this reading is...

‘The Requisite’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
June 26, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
2 Comments
. The Requisite I may have made a great mistake In my pursuit of solitude and grace; Perhaps have stumbled unaware Into an all-too-human ache I...

‘Abiding Senescence’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 25, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Abiding Senescence My energy and physical abilities Will not again be limitless as once they were. To those more qualified to ponder facts like...

‘Upon These Boughs that Shake Against the Cold’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
June 25, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
19 Comments
. “Upon These Boughs that Shake Against the Cold” ---Shakespeare, Sonnet 73 Her script was always lovely and unique, And still unique when it...

‘There Is a Quiet Place’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
June 24, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
19 Comments
. There Is a Quiet Place There is a quiet place Where we can go to hide. A place where no one sees us, That cannot be denied. There is a quiet...

‘Advice from the Untalented’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
June 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Advice from the Untalented They smugly said I’d never make much money From playing with my words and making art, That it would be a waste to...

‘Australia in 2022’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
June 23, 2022
Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. Australia in 2022 written on the eve of a federal election where everything is at stake but nothing is on the agenda. A nation now in name and...
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  1. Paul Freeman on Inspiring Muse Poetry ChallengeAugust 22, 2025

    I think the muse deserted me on the last line: She rattles your brain, dusts it off, She makes you…

  2. tabitha on 10 Greatest Love Poems Ever WrittenAugust 22, 2025

    personally, i am very dissapointed that this is what a great poem is percieved as..... i expect for my mind…

  3. Roy Eugene Peterson on Inspiring Muse Poetry ChallengeAugust 22, 2025

    Maria, that seems like you have found a wonderful Muse, since "she never gives up," or did your Muse find…

  4. Maria Panayi on Inspiring Muse Poetry ChallengeAugust 22, 2025

    For the Society Of Classical Poets Although my muse is one, She is made of many parts That are scattered…

  5. Roy Eugene Peterson on Inspiring Muse Poetry ChallengeAugust 22, 2025

    Bless you for the clarification. I can understand your adoption of the "Grace" of God as a Muse-like entity. In…

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